Position in chronology
CUSAS 03, 0359
About this tablet
An Ur III administrative tablet from Garšana, a private estate town in southern Iraq run by the general-physician Šu-Kabta and his wife Simat-Ištaran, dated to roughly 2035 BCE. It records a large quantity of mud bricks — nearly 190 sar, an enormous stack — booked under a work-gang foreman named Mē'ea who supervised hired laborers at a building site beside the Agamum watercourse. The note that the workers' consumption (their food allotment) was not deducted from the tally shows the accountants tracking labor costs separately from output. The tablet was sealed by the scribe Iškur-illat, who identifies himself as the servant of Šu-Kabta.
Plain-language summary by the engine — meant as a doorway into the literal translation below.
Written in modern English
Brick account: 188 sar and 10 gin of mud bricks. The workers' rations have not been subtracted from this figure; the total was counted as part of the assigned work-quota. Handled by Ea-šar, at the site alongside the Agamum watercourse. Received from Mē'ea, foreman of the hired crew, in the month of Akiti, in the year King Šu-Suen of Ur built the great barge for Enlil and Ninlil. Sealed by Iškur-illat the scribe, son of Abi'a, servant of Šu-Kabta the physician, son of Naram-ili.
A modern paraphrase of the literal translation — same content, contemporary voice.
Translation — our engine
Our engine188 sar 10 gin of bricks — its consumption was not deducted; counted within the lot-assignment. Via Ea-šar. (Situated) adjoining the Agamum watercourse. Delivery. Mē'ea, overseer of the hired workers. Month: Akiti. Year: Šu-Suen, king of Ur, fashioned the magnificent barge for Enlil and Ninlil. (Seal:) Šu-Kabta, the physician, son of Naram-ili. Iškur-illat, scribe, son of Abi'a — is your servant.
Our translation engine — Opus 5. Reads the photo, translates the cuneiform, and writes a plain-language interpretation. See methodology for limits.
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Transliteration
3(gesz2) 8(disz) sar 1(u) gin2 sig4 bi2-gu7-bi nu-zi szid-da sza3 gesz-szub-ba giri3 e2-a-szar us2-sa i7 a-ga-mu-um mu-kux(DU) me-e2-a ugula lu2 [hun]-ga2# iti a2-ki-ti mu szu-suen lugal uri5-ma-ke4 ma2-gur8-mah en-lil2 nin-lil2-ra mu-ne-dim2 szu-kab2-ta a-zu dumu na-ra-am-i3-li2 iszkur-illat dub-sar dumu a-bi2-a ARAD2-zu
Scholarly note
Catalogue entry from CDLI (Ur III (ca. 2100-2000 BC)) — CUSAS 03, 0359. This record has no stored scholarly English translation; the existence of published translations has not been checked; the transliteration is from the ATF (CDLI's Atf-Friendly format). [year-name] Dated to Šu-Suen y1 — Šu-Suen became king based on canonical year-name formula in the transliteration.
Attribution
Image: CUNES 49-15-010 (Department of Near Eastern Studies, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York, USA) — from Garšana (mod. uncertain) — Photo via Cuneiform Digital Library Initiative (cdli.earth/artifacts, P324016). source
Translation excerpted from engine:claude-opus-5 (2026-07-12/v7-evolved).
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